Sport wagering levy amongst 'innovative' Labour sport prepares

24 July 2014

A sports betting levy to assist fund neighborhood centers and deal with sports betting addiction is among propositions by Labour in a "long-term innovative strategy for sport".

Transfer to push Premier League clubs to contribute more to grassroots football are also being thought about.

Shadow culture secretary Harriet Harman said the Olympic "tradition" of increased participation had actually failed to materialise after London 2012.

And she said "strong federal government leadership" was required to achieve it.

Ms Harman will also consider restoring a requirement that school students do at least 2 hours of sport a week, which was removed by the union as part of education reforms.

Pressure on clubs

The proposals are part of Labour's More Sport for All assessment.

At present, sports betting firms deal with a levy on horseracing revenues - which raised ₤ 82m in 2015 - and Labour is thinking about extending the levy to cover all sports betting and consist of bets placed online.
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While the Premier League also introduced a voluntary 5% levy on tv revenues for the grassroots video game, the celebration thinks the manner in which sum is computed means it is often less that it could be.

The assessment is looking at increasing transparency into how sums are calculated and exploring procedures that would press the country's wealthiest football clubs into properly satisfying their guarantee.

The strategies being thought about also include:

New targets for female participation in sport

Increasing the variety of females on the boards of sporting organisations

Ms Harman stated: "We were all proud to host the Olympics and Paralympic Games in London two years back, but instead of seeing increased involvement things have got worse, specifically among youths, as an outcome of the federal government axing school sports betting collaborations."

She added: "Our consultation looks at a variety of ideas which intend to increase investment in neighborhood and grassroots sports betting by getting hard with the Premier League and wagering business, restoring 2 hours of sport at schools a week and encouraging more individuals to take part - girls along with kids.

"We need strong government management to develop a long-term innovative plan for sport which is what this to do."

Clive Efford, Labour's shadow sport minister, included: "If we are going to get more individuals active then we have to empower individuals who do the majority of the work in our neighborhoods to have more impact over how we plan, arrange and provide sport and physical education at regional level."

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